Finding Baseball's Next Clemente

This book examines what it takes for Latino youngsters to beat the odds, overcoming cultural and racial barriers-and a corrupt recruitment system-to play professional baseball in the United States. Latin Americans now comprise nearly 30 percent of the players in Major League Baseball (MLB). This provocative work looks at how young Latinos are recruited-and often exploited-and at the cultural, linguistic, and racial challenges faced by those who do make it. There are exposés of baseball camps where teens are encouraged to sacrifice education in favor of hitting and fielding drills and descriptions of fraud cases in which youngsters claim to be older than they are in order to sign contracts. The book also documents the increasing use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by kids desperately trying to gain an edge. In addition to discussing the hard road many Latinos follow to MLB, the work also traces the fascinating history of baseball's introduction in Latin American countries-in some cases, more than a century ago. Finally, there are the stories of great Latino players, of men like Roberto Clemente and Carlos Beltran who made it to the majors, but also of men who were not so lucky. Through their tales, readers can share the dreams and expectations of young men who, for better or worse, believe in "America's pastime" as their gateway out of poverty.

Roger Bruns is a prolific author who has written many titles for Bloomsbury, including Border Towns and Border Crossings: A History of the U.S.-Mexico Divide (2019), Documents of the Chicano Movement (2018), and Zoot Suit Riots (2014).

Series Foreword Introduction Chapter 1 The Spreading Roots of Béisbol Chapter 2 The Fall of the Color Line and the Challenge of Integration Chapter 3 Clemente: A Special Talent from Puerto Rico Chapter 4 Baseball's Diamond Rush to the Caribbean Chapter 5 Scandal Chapter 6 Combating Abuses and Making a Difference: On the Leading Edge Chapter 7 Clemente and the Dream Chase That Lives On Selected Bibliography Index